Numbers 11:18

New American Standard Bible

"And you shall say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, "Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat.

Parallel Translations

Geneva Bible (1587)
Furthermore thou shalt saye vnto the people, Bee sanctified against to morowe, and yee shall eate flesh: for you haue wept in the eares of the Lord, saying, Who shall giue vs flesh to eate? for we were better in Egypt: therefore the Lorde will giue you flesh, and ye shall eate.

George Lamsa Translation
And Moses said to the people, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow and you shall eat meat: for you have wept before the LORD, saying, Who shall give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt; therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat.

Hebrew Names Version
Say you to the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Mitzrayim: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and you shall eat.

Easy-to-Read Version
"Tell the people this: Make yourselves ready for tomorrow. Tomorrow you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you cried out and said, ‘We need meat to eat! It was better for us in Egypt!' So now the Lord will give you meat. And you will eat it.

English Standard Version
And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord , saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt." Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.

American Standard Version
And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore Jehovah will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

Bible in Basic English
And say to the people, Make yourselves clean before tomorrow and you will have flesh for your food: for in the ears of the Lord you have been weeping and saying, Who will give us flesh for food? for we were well off in Egypt: and so the Lord will give you flesh, and it will be your food;

Contemporary English Version
As for the Israelites, I have heard them complaining about not having meat and about being better off in Egypt. So tell them to make themselves acceptable to me, because tomorrow they will have meat.

Complete Jewish Bible
"Tell the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat; because you cried in the ears of Adonai , "If only we had meat to eat! We had the good life in Egypt!" All right, Adonai is going to give you meat, and you will eat it.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And say thou unto the people: Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying: Would that we were given flesh to eat! for it was well with us in Egypt; therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

King James Version (1611)
And say thou vnto the people, Sanctifie your selues against to morrow, and yee shall eate flesh: (for you haue wept in the eares of the Lord, saying, Who shall giue vs flesh to eate? for it was well with vs in Egypt:) therfore the Lord wil giue you flesh, and ye shall eate.

Amplified Bible
"Say to the people, 'Consecrate (separate as holy) yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept [in self-pity] in the ears of the LORD, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For we were well-off in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And to the people thou shalt say, Purify yourselves for the morrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye wept before the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: and the Lord shall allow you to eat flesh, and ye shall eat flesh.

English Revised Version
And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

Berean Standard Bible
And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, because you have cried out in the hearing of the LORD, saying, 'Who will feed us meat? For we were better off in Egypt.' Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat.

Lexham English Bible
And you will say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves tomorrow, for you will eat meat because you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, "Who will feed us good meat? It was good for us in Egypt." Yahweh will give to you meat, and you will eat.

Literal Translation
And you shall say to the people, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh. For you have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who shall give us flesh, for we had good in Egypt? And Jehovah shall give flesh to you, and you shall eat.

New Century Version
"Tell the people this: ‘Make yourselves holy for tomorrow, and you will eat meat. You cried to the Lord , "We want meat! We were better off in Egypt!" So now the Lord will give you meat to eat.

New English Translation
"And say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord , saying, "Who will give us meat to eat, for life was good for us in Egypt?" Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat.

New King James Version
Then you shall say to the people, "Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat.

New Living Translation
"And say to the people, ‘Purify yourselves, for tomorrow you will have meat to eat. You were whining, and the Lord heard you when you cried, "Oh, for some meat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it.

New Life Bible
Say to the people, ‘Make yourselves holy for tomorrow, and you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you cried and said, "If only someone would give us meat to eat! For it was well with us in Egypt." So the Lord will give you meat and you will eat.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, unto the people, shalt thou say: Hallow yourselves by to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh, for ye have wept in the ears of Yahweh saying - Who will grant us to eat flesh? for it was well with us in Egypt, - so then Yahweh will give you flesh and ye shall eat.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And thou shalt say to the people: Be ye sanctified: to morrow you shall eat flesh: for I have heard you say: Who will give us flesh to eat? It was well with us in Egypt. That the Lord may give you flesh, and you may eat:

Revised Standard Version
And say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the hearing of the LORD, saying, "Who will give us meat to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat.

Good News Translation
Now tell the people, ‘Purify yourselves for tomorrow; you will have meat to eat. The Lord has heard you whining and saying that you wished you had some meat and that you were better off in Egypt. Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will have to eat it.

King James Version
And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord , saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

Darby Translation
And unto the people shalt thou say, Hallow yourselves for to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who will give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt; and Jehovah will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And thou schalt seie to the puple, Be ye halewid; to morew ye schulen ete fleischis; for Y herde you seie, Who schal yyue to vs the metis of fleischis? it was wel to vs in Egipt; that the Lord yyue `fleischis to you,

Young's Literal Translation
`And unto the people thou dost say, Sanctify yourselves for to-morrow, and ye have eaten flesh (for ye have wept in the ears of Jehovah, saying, Who doth give us flesh? for we [had] good in Egypt) -- and Jehovah hath given to you flesh, and ye have eaten.

World English Bible
Say you to the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore Yahweh will give you flesh, and you shall eat.

Update Bible Version
And you say to the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore Yahweh will give you flesh, and you shall eat.

Webster's Bible Translation
And say thou to the people, Sanctify yourselves against to-morrow, and ye shall eat flesh; for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for [it was] well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And say thou vnto the people, Be halowed agaynst to morowe, and ye shall eate fleshe: for your whyning is in the eares of the Lorde, seyng ye sayd, Who shall geue vs fleshe to eate? we were happy in Egypt: Therefore the Lorde wyll geue you fleshe, and ye shall eate.

Christian Standard Bible®
“Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the Lord’s hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And vnto ye people thou shalt saye: Sactifye yor selues agaynst tomorow, yt ye maye eate flesh: for youre wepynge is come into the eares of the LORDE, ye that saye: Who shal geue vs flesh to eate? for we were well at ease in Egipte. Therfore shal the LORDE geue you flesh to eate,

THE MESSAGE
"Tell the people, Consecrate yourselves. Get ready for tomorrow when you're going to eat meat. You've been whining to God , ‘We want meat; give us meat. We had a better life in Egypt.' God has heard your whining and he's going to give you meat. You're going to eat meat. And it's not just for a day that you'll eat meat, and not two days, or five or ten or twenty, but for a whole month. You're going to eat meat until it's coming out your nostrils. You're going to be so sick of meat that you'll throw up at the mere mention of it. And here's why: Because you have rejected God who is right here among you, whining to his face, ‘Oh, why did we ever have to leave Egypt?'"

New Revised Standard
And say to the people: Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wailed in the hearing of the Lord , saying, ‘If only we had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us in Egypt.' Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, "Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat.

Legacy Standard Bible
And say to the people, ‘Set yourselves apart as holy for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of Yahweh, saying, "Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For it was good for us in Egypt." Therefore Yahweh will give you meat, and you shall eat.

Contextual Overview

¹⁶ The LORD therefore said to Moses, "Gather for Me seventy men from the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their stand there with you. ¹⁷ "Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take away some of the Spirit who is upon you, and put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it by yourself. ¹⁸ "And you shall say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, "Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt." Therefore the LORD will give you meat and you shall eat.¹⁹ 'You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, ²⁰ but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nose and makes you nauseated; because you have rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"'" ²¹ But Moses said, "The people, among whom I am included, are six hundred thousand on foot! Yet You have said, 'I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.' ²² "Are flocks and herds to be slaughtered for them, so that it will be sufficient for them? Or are all the fish of the sea to be caught for them, so that it will be sufficient for them?" ²³ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Is the LORD'S power too little? Now you shall see whether My word will come true for you or not."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Sanctify: Genesis 35:2, Exodus 19:10, Exodus 19:15, Joshua 7:13

ye have wept: Numbers 11:1, Numbers 11:4-6, Exodus 16:3-7, Judges 21:2

it was well: Numbers 11:4, Numbers 11:5, Numbers 14:2, Numbers 14:3, Acts 7:39

Reciprocal: Psalms 78:27 - He rained Proverbs 27:7 - full

Cross-References

Luke 3:35
the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Heber, the son of Shelah,

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And say thou unto the people,.... For what follows respects them, as what goes before regarded himself:

sanctify yourselves against tomorrow; or prepare yourselves, as the Targums of Onkelos, and Jonathan, either to receive mercies, or to meet the Lord in the way of his judgments; so Jarchi interprets it,

"prepare for punishments,''

for what is said should be, and what they had, was not as a blessing, but in a way of punishment:

and ye shall eat flesh; which they lusted after, wept for, and could not be easy without:

for ye have wept in the ears of the Lord; complaining of him, and which he has taken notice of:

saying, who shall give us flesh to eat? for though they so earnestly desired it, they despaired of it, and even called in question the power of God to give it:

for [it was] well with us in Egypt; where they had their fleshpots, as well as their cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic, Exodus 16:3; but they forgot how ill it went with them by reason of their hard bondage, when their lives were made bitter by it, notwithstanding their fleshpots, and of which there is not much reason to believe any great share came to them: like to them were their posterity in later times,

Jeremiah 44:17;

therefore the Lord will give you flesh; to show his power:

and ye shall eat; to your shame and confusion, not for pleasure or profit.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Occurrences at Kibroth-hattavah.

Numbers 11:4

The mixt multitude - The word in the original resembles our “riff-raff,” and denotes a mob of people scraped together. It refers here to the multitude of strangers (see Exodus 12:38) who had followed the Israelites from Egypt.

Numbers 11:5

The natural dainties of Egypt are set forth in this passage with the fullness and relish which bespeak personal experience.

Numbers 11:6-7

There is nothing at all ... - literally, “Nought at all have we except that our eyes are unto this manna;” i. e. “Nought else have we to expect beside this manna.” On the manna see Exodus 16:15 note; on bdellium see Genesis 2:12 note.

Numbers 11:10

The weeping was general; every family wept (compare Zechariah 12:12), and in a manner public and unconcealed.

Numbers 11:11-15

The complaint and remonstrance of Moses may be compared with that in 1 Kings 19:4 ff; Jonah 4:1-3, and contrasted with the language of Abraham (Genesis 18:23 ff) The meekness of Moses (compare Numbers 12:3) sank under vexation into despair. His language shows us how imperfect and prone to degeneracy are the best saints on earth.

Numbers 11:16

Seventy men of the elders of Israel - Seventy elders had also gone up with Moses to the Lord in the mount Exodus 24:1, Exodus 24:9. Seventy is accordingly the number of colleagues assigned to Moses to share his burden with him. To it, the Jews trace the origin of the Sanhedrim. Subsequent notices Numbers 16:25; Joshua 7:6; Joshua 8:10, Joshua 8:33; Joshua 9:11; Joshua 23:2; Joshua 24:1, Joshua 24:31 so connect the elders with the government of Israel as to point to the fact that the appointment now made was not a merely temporary one, though it would seem to have soon fallen into desuetude. We find no traces of it in the days of the Judges and the Kings.

Elders of the people, and officers over them - In English idiom, “elders and officers of the people.” Both elders and officers appear in Egypt (Exodus 3:16; Exodus 5:6 ff): the former had headed the nation in its efforts after freedom; the latter were the subordinate, though unwilling, agents of Egyptian tyranny. The two classes no doubt were working together; and from those who belonged to either, perhaps from those who were both eiders and officers, the council of Seventy was to be selected.

Numbers 11:17

I will take of the spirit which is upon thee - Render rather separate from the spirit, etc.; i. e. they shall have their portion in the same divine gift which thou hast.

Numbers 11:25

They prophesied - i. e. under the extraordinary impulse of the Holy Spirit they uttered forth the praises of God, or declared His will. Compare the marginal references.

And did not cease - Rather, and added not, i. e. they prophesied at this time only and not afterward. The sign was granted on the occasion of their appointment to accredit them in their office; it was not continued, because their proper function was to be that of governing not prophesying.

Numbers 11:26

Of them that were written - i. e. enrolled among the Seventy. The expression points to a regular appointment duly recorded and permanent.

Numbers 11:29

Enviest thou for my sake? - (Compare Mark 9:38 ff) The other members of the Seventy had been with Moses (compare Numbers 6:16, Numbers 6:24-25) when the gift of prophecy was bestowed on them. They received “of the spirit that was upon him,” and exercised their office visibly through and for him. Eldad and Medad prophesying in the camp seemed to Joshua to be acting independently, and so establishing a separate center of authority.

Numbers 11:31

The southeast wind, which blew from the neighboring Elanitic gulf of the Red Sea, brought the quails Exodus 16:13.

Two cubits high - Better, “two cubits above the face of the ground:” i. e. the quails, wearied with their long flight, flew about breast high, and were easily secured by the people, who spread them all abroad for themselves Numbers 11:32, in order to salt and dry them. The quail habitually flies with the wind, and low.

Numbers 11:32

Ten homers - About 55 bushels. Compare Leviticus 27:16.

Numbers 11:33

Ere it was chewed - Better, ere it was consumed. See Numbers 11:19-20. The surfeit in which the people indulged, as described in Numbers 11:32, disposed them to sickness. God’s wrath, visiting the gluttonous through their gluttony, aggravated natural consequences into a supernatural visitation.

Numbers 11:34, Numbers 11:35

(Kibroth-hattaavah has been identified by Palmer with the extensive remains, graves, etc., at Erweis El Ebeirig, and Hazeroth “enclosures” with Ain Hadherah.)